December Celebrations

Posted on by

Retirement Celebrations

Economics members celebrating Pam’s retirement

With mixed feelings, we bid so long and much sincere thanks to Pam Harris-Stewart, the gracious and skilled Administrative Assistant to History and Economics. Pam began working at UPEI in 2009, first in Business, and later in a variety of positions in Nursing, Research Services, and Skills Development before joining the Faculty of Arts in 2016. Pam retires in March but will be using up some leave time in interim. She promises to return to visit the Faculty and will continue to teach yoga and meditation on campus, so we will continue to enjoy her company. Thank you, Pam, for all you have done.

Welcome to Dr. Nicholas Mercer who begins a tenure track, cross-appointment between the MAIS program and Environmental Studies on December 15th. Nick has degrees in Environmental Studies and Environmental Policy from MUN-Grenfell, and a PhD in Geography and Environmental Management from the University of Waterloo. He joins us from a SSHRC-funded post-doctoral position in the School for Resource and Environmental Studies at Dalhousie, and also from his position as an energy consultant for NunatuKavut Community Council in Labrador.

Nick’s research centers on community energy resource planning, with a particular emphasis on sustainability and community autonomy. He is the co-author of multiple journal articles and reports, and a frequent invited lecturer. Nick serves on the Government of Newfoundland’s Expert Panel on Churchill Falls and its Net Zero Advisory Council.

Welcome to the Faculty of Arts, Nick! We look forward to working with you and learning from you in the years ahead.

Congratulations to Dr. Raquel Hoersting, Psychology, and Dr. Justin Kakeu, Economics, who will be granted tenure this summer. The Faculty of Arts, and the University as a whole, recognize and celebrate your valuable contributions to teaching, scholarly activity, and service. Thank you for your contributions and for your dedication to your students, your fields, and UPEI.

Save the date: the afternoon of January 20th. The Arts Research Committee will share the results of its survey concerning research in Arts, contextualized by the new UPEI Strategic Research Plan. This will be followed by a return of our celebratory Book Launch event. More details to follow.

A special shout out to the Administrative Assistants in the Faculty of Arts who have tackled the new timetabling software with tenacity and patience! Thanks for this, and for all you do.